Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says the changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process in the bill would increase accountability for abuses of the system and require the FBI to disclose more information to the court.

"We would hope now is that cooler heads will prevail within the Trump administration that can reason with the President that the time is now for negotiations rather than further escalation," says Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history.

"If there was a year in which I'd be suspicious of polling numbers, this would be it,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells CNY Central. "The reason is that the models of likely voters have to come from somewhere, and usually they use previous midterms. 2018 is nothing like 2014." 

"For [Elise] Stefanik, she is betting that the district will distinguish and appreciate the nuance of her approach toward the president— of supporting at a distance, in order to help with the district," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher.

"Perez Williams has higher name recognition than [Dana] Balter due to her previous run for mayor. She also has the support of the national party organization. But this is the kind of race in which the actual result might not match polling," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science, says that typically when a vice president comes to town, it's significant and a way for Republicans to raise money and create a buzz. He adds that these visit are "a signal that the establishment Republicans are behind his [the vice president's] candidacy."